Kotaku UK's Most Anticipated Games Of 2016

It's a pretty great feeling, standing at the brink of a new year and surveying what's to come — even if it later turns out that half of your most anticipated games get delayed, as happened to us last year. For 2016, we've included some picks from our readers as well as our own. Let's dive right in.

Julian Benson, News Editor

It was only when looking through the lists of games already announced for 2016 that I realised how good a year we're in for. Before Keza restricted me to five games, I had a list of 20 that I'm really excited about and another 70 that I'm keeping tabs on.

It's been eight months since I wrote exclusively about PC games and while I do play a good deal on console, as you can tell from the list below, my tastes still tend towards turn-based games riddled with dice, stats and aliens.

XCOM 2

Due February 5 on PC

So many of my friends died when I played XCOM: Enemy Unknown. I named my squad members after my flatmates. Then, as they were killed off, my close friends, then less close friends, and on and on until I was using friends of friends of acquaintances. It was an exceptionally good take on the original XCOM and proved that the series was in good hands. While not much at the core of Enemy Unknown looks to have changed in XCOM 2, I'm frantically eager to get stuck into a new campaign.

The changes that aren't that exciting but will have the most impact are things like randomised levels. The first XCOM had lots of maps but after you'd been playing for 50 hours, you'd become familiar with all of them. Randomisation should keep the campaign fresh for much longer. Then there's the new classes, the new alien types, the new customisation options... it's like Firaxis is going through every aspect of Enemy Unknown and making it better suited for long, long, long, long play sessions. Then, of course, there are the mod tools.

February can't come soon enough.

Hitman

Due March 11 on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One

Hitman was at its best when it gave you a big level packed with NPCs and told you to kill one of them in whatever way you could. The new Hitman looks like the purest example of that formula yet. At Gamescom last August I was given a tour of a sprawling French mansion, populated by more than 400 NPCs, each performing different roles. There were party guests, waiters, chefs, guards. Each had different paths and behaviour, different areas of the level they could explore without being noticed. And throughout the space were things you could turn into weapons: gas hobs that can be left on, chandeliers that can be dropped, food that can be poisoned. Hitman's world is your murder oyster.

Square Enix has taken the best thing from Hitman: Absolution, its Contract mode, and applied it to this new murder sandbox. So, in between the targets set by Square Enix, you can explore the sandbox and pick your own targets and challenge your friends to murder them, too. You can apply restrictions like 'No guns' and 'No witnesses' to increase the challenge.

The more I read about the new Hitman, the more I think this could be a perfect take on the series.

Total War: Warhammer

Due April 29 on PC

This is the Warhammer video game I've been waiting on for years. One of the problems of collecting Warhammer as a teenager was I never had anywhere near the funds needed to buy the large armies on show in White Dwarf magazine. In Total War: Warhammer I can finally build the vast army I've always wanted. Not only that: Creative Assembly has done an incredible job of bringing each model to life. The Goblin Wolf Riders on show in the trailer bound across the battlefield, pouncing upon their enemies. I've played with these models for years, never seeing them in motion, and it just looks right. It's uncanny.

Besides the joy of finally having a massive Warhammer virtual collection, the armies fit into the complex grand strategy systems of Total War perfectly. The game gives you a huge campaign map to conquer and each army has objectives and mechanics tailored to their race. For instance, if the bloodthirsty greenskin armies halt their conquest then they will start infighting. You have to keep up the offensive just to stop your army from killing itself.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Due August 24 on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One

Human Revolution was an excellent entry in the Deus Ex series. It was intelligent, complex and beautiful, a game of systems that seamlessly interlinked and supported a rich world to explore. I spent hours pacing the streets of Detroit, searching out every nook, breaking into every dark apartment, trying to find every last bit of story. I used force, lockpicking, hacking, and conversation skills to find out everything I could about the game's world. Human Revolution is a game that had me willingly searching out fictional emails about corporate minutiae. Mankind Divided promises an equally rich world to plunge into.

Last year I talked to Mankind Divided's game director Jean-Francois Dugas. I meant to ask about the new locations we'd be visiting and how the underlying systems have evolved from the last game to its sequel. Instead we talked for 20 minutes about using scifi to explore contemporary racism and prejudice. So few games explore such issues, and yet here is Mankind Divided, on track to be one of the most thoughtful games of 2016. And you have arms that can turn into swords. What's not to like?

Endless Space 2

Due 2016 on PC

Politics. That's what has me most excited about Endless Space 2. Bear with me: I love massive space battles dearly, but those were already in the original Endless Space. What developer Amplitude is trying to do in Endless Space 2 is something that I haven't seen in a space strategy before.

Normally in strategy games you have near total control over your faction. You can send armies of troops into battle and have them fight to the very last soldier without a hint of complaint. Games like Total War have complicated that with morale systems, but even then you can always start a conflict without consultation. In Endless Space, as leader, you can't act against your people's interests. The people elect politicians who reflect their mood. If they're safe and secure they will elect peaceful politicians who give you bonuses to things like tech research and farming. If they're insecure they will elect more military-focused politicians. This is where Endless Space takes a juicily dark turn. If you have a peaceful government but you want to go to war then you might want to bait an enemy empire into attacking you and even let them take a few of your planets so that in the next election your people elect a more radical, aggressive set of politicians, giving you greater bonuses to your military abilities.

It's a dark, promising set of systems that I really want to explore.

Honourable mentions:

Keza MacDonald, Editor

I've still got about 30 games from 2015 that I'd like to play more (or at all), but nonetheless, when I cast my eye down the list of games currently planned for 2016, there's a lot that piques my interest. I've gone for a couple of less obvious choices here — naturally I'm looking forward to Uncharted 4, but then so is almost everyone else on the gaming planet. I'd put The Last Guardian in the main list, but I still don't think I can really believe it exists until it's right in front of me.

Dark Souls 3

Due April 13 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC

I have been with the Souls series since the very beginning, when I picked a copy of Demon's Souls out of the new releases rack at a Japanese game shop. I love Dark Souls so much I am literally writing the book on it. What I'm trying to say is that I'm really, really, REALLY looking forward to Dark Souls 3. Like, really.

An admission: I didn't get that far through Dark Souls 2, for two good reasons. First, it came out the same week that Kotaku UK launched and I had no life for about three months. But second, I didn't like it all that much. It lacked the majesty of the original, and as a Souls fanatic I couldn't help but notice the absence of series creator's Hidetaka Miyazaki's touch. A slightly disappointing Souls game is still better than 90 per cent of video games, in my opinion, but it wasn't the same. With Miyazaki back in charge for Dark Souls 3, I have no such concerns about it.

New Zelda

Due 2016 on Wii U

An open-world Zelda is something I have dreamt of since I was about nine, and I'm pleased to say I have still not grown out of it. I don't really know what more there is to say about the new Zelda, except that I hope it actually does come out this year. It's the only interesting game still planned for Wii U.

Below

Due 2016 on Xbox One and PC

Another game that was on my most-anticipated list last year. I'm naming it again because I want Capy Games to know I have NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT IT. Below is a beautiful-looking exploration-based adventure game with a touch of Souls about it. Your character is a speck of life in the middle of these vast island landscapes, dwarfed by nature. It looked almost finished when I saw it in action at Gamescom in 2014, so god only knows what's taking so long, but I'm hoping that when it finally reaches me it will have been worth the wait.

Tacoma

Due 2016 on Xbox One and PC

Gone Home in Space would be enough to sell me on Tacoma — this is the next game by developer Fullbright, rad people who make great games. But I've also played the opening half-hour or so, and it's even more interesting than I had hoped. You explore an abandoned space-station in first person, piecing together what happened from logs, clues, and what's left behind, but there's more to it: navigating the station is a spatial challenge in itself, and the sense of mystery is irresistible.

Persona 5

Due 2016 on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4

I was immensely relieved when Persona 5 was delayed into 2016, because I simply did not have room in my life for another massive RPG last year. (Xenoblade Chronicles X is still sitting unplayed on my shelf.) I only discovered Persona in 2013, when I spent a hundred hours with Persona 4 Golden, but it's since become one of my favourite series. Persona 5 — set in Tokyo, featuring a shape-shifting cat — looks tremendous.

I do, however, have my doubts that it will be out in Europe in 2016. It's due around Autumn in Japan, and Atlus insists the American version will be ready by the end of the year, but I am sceptical about Europe. For me, though, this is worth importing.

Honourable mentions:

Readers' Most Anticipated

Lots of Kotaku UK readers picked the same games as we did — clearly, you all have excellent taste. But here are 6 more that we haven't mentioned already, drawn from Twitter, Facebook and the comments.

Crackdown 3

Crackdown 3 marks the return of a very fondly-remembered Xbox series — but this time, as the first game to actually use the Xbox One's purported "cloud" capabilities in an interesting way, it lets you destroy everything. EVERYTHING. Buildings, whole cities, the lot. Seeing Crackdown 3 in action, it's clear that it really does do new things with technology, and it looks mega fun too.

Nier: Automata

A surprise announcement at last year's E3, Nier: Automa is a Japanese action role-playing game from beloved developer Platinum. Its predecessor inspired a very devoted cult following, so it's not hard to see why it's featured in many of our readers' picks.

Final Fantasy XV

The Final Fantasy game that even people who don't like Final Fantasy are interested in, FFXV is looking very sweet indeed. It also has absurdly detailed food and amazing hair. It's been in development for SO LONG at this point that it has a lot to live up to, but all the indications are good.

Divinity Original Sin 2

Planned for December, this follow-up to Larian's excellent Kickstarted RPG is exactly what the doctor (and 42,713 backers) ordered. For those nostalgic for the glory days of computer RPGs, sinking into its pleasing fantasy world is like immersing yourself in a warm bath. The sequel is being written by a team including Chris Avellone — he of Planescape: Torment and many more awesome things — and will be multiplayer, too.

Street Fighter V

It feels like we already know an awful lot about Street Fighter V — Capcom has drip-fed information on all the characters, even the ones that won't be available at launch — but this has not diminished anticipation for the new fighting game. It looks gorgeous, has some interesting new systems, and threatens to reawaken decades-old feuds between friends.

Uncharted 4

Teased and delayed for years, Uncharted 4 looks like it will be the last of Nathan Drake's adventures. The trailers show a game much like its predecessors but from a team that's more experienced and more mature. Expect more explosions, more car chases, more cliffside acrobatics, and more ancient puzzles.

This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK, bringing you original reporting, game culture and humour from the British isles.

Well, while it's slightly open, in that its often got a hub world with various different branching paths, its too linear to be considered truly open world. Go to grass temple, then fire temple, then water temple, then some plot etc. Plus, often times trying to access any of the other parts of the map prior to needing to go there will result in a temporarily blocked path à la pokèmon, or in Wind Wakers case, your boat straight up telling you to turn around.

All games with large, open world maps though still have a linear progression. Go here, get your next objective, go here then here then here to complete that objective, go back to dude that gave you objective, then go somewhere else to get your next objective. Optional side quests are available to do in between your main story objectives. The map might allow you to go anywhere you want but it's only an illusion of freedom because you aren't going to progress the story at all unless you go where the game wants you to go.

Truly open world would be giving you have a map where you can go anywhere, you have all of your objectives given to you from the start, and you can complete those objectives in any order you wish. Want to fight the final boss as the very first thing you do in the game? Go ahead, nothing stopping you. Unfortunately, such a game does not exist to my knowledge.

Well that's just how plot works. I don't think it's possible to build a coherent story whilst still encouraging sequence breaking. Unless maybe it was a game that tasked you to defeat some sort of villain, gave you an open world to explore and prepare in, and let you challenge him whenever you felt ready. I don't know how well plot would function in such a free-form manner though.

Crackdown 3 marks the return of a very fondly-remembered Xbox series — but this time, as the first game to actually use the Xbox One’s purported “cloud” capabilities in an interesting way, it lets you destroy everything. EVERYTHING.*

it does a little but not in the way that the games ive mentioned have, and thats mostly because i still have no real idea what it is. ie is it an actual game with a story, is it just minecraft in space, is it pvp or purely pve etc

Most videos ive seen have really just been hop into space ship and fly, fly to planet, land, walk about, scan something then fly off

I want to say yes to No Mans Sky, but I think I've been burnt out following the development of games with the likes of DayZ that still seems to have a long way to go. Though quietly I'm sure with NMS I'll be pleasantly surprised at final release I'm staying away from it so as not to get my hopes up.
I was also looking forward to The Division, but once they dropped tablet support I lost interest.

Triple AAA games nailing the brief. Indie games surprising people out of nowhere, and expansions and patches that completely turn a game around. It's been a good year for games - now it's time for you to vote for your favourite.